Page 113 of Blitzing Emily

“It happens the way women have been getting pregnant for thousands of years. They have sex—”

“No. I never got the results. It was my understanding they wouldn’t be back for at least several more days.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Emily’s voice shook. The trembling increased. She wanted to scream at him, but somehow she kept her voice low. She was cold again. She knew the cold wasn’t ever going to thaw. “You lied to me.”

He cut her off. “I didn’t sleep with her. Not since I met you. I swear on everything that’s holy. Do we have to go over this again? I made it clear I wasn’t interested, we were done, and she needed to leave. She attacked me that night at the bar.” He jabbed the air in front of him with one finger.

“It still means that you lied to me about seeing her,” Emily insisted. “Why should I believe you now?”

“I didn’t lie to you!” he shouted. “It’s just a picture! Why are you inventing things in your head that never happened?”

Emily didn’t listen. “Stop it, Brandon. I trusted you. I believed you. I defended you, and you did this. How could you?”

“What exactly did Ido? I went out for a beer, and my ex showed up. I wasn’t responsible for her pregnancy. What are you driving at, anyway?”

He was around the room in a flash, pulling her into his arms. She tried to wrench away, but she was no match for his strength. Emily forced herself to look into his eyes. Even in the middle of her hurt and anger, she loved him. The pain she felt over what happened with James was nothing compared to this. Her chest squeezed. She had a lump in the pit of her stomach that wouldn’t go away. She wondered if it were possible to die of a broken heart, because right now she felt worse than she had in her life. She took a gasping breath.

“This isn’t going to work,” she repeated. “I—you have to go.”

“What?You’re just mad. Let’s talk about this.”

“I can’t do this. I can’t be with someone who—I can’t wonder when it’s going to happen again.”

“It never happened in the first place. I don’t know how she claims that baby’s mine, because I haven’t seen the results of the tests I took yet.”

“Brandon, it’s not just the test. This isn’t working.”

He took Emily’s face in his hands. “I’m telling you the truth.”

“Why would she get on national television and lie?”

In the faint light from the hallway, she saw his eyes narrowing. “Why are you defending Anastasia over me?” His voice dropped to almost a whisper. “Haven’t I proven you can trust me?”

“What do you expect me to think? Do I believe you, or do I believe my eyes?”

“It’s not what it looks like.” He flung the words at her. “I’m not James, and I’m not your dad.”

“Brandon. Stop talking now. Stop talking and get out.” This time she succeeded in wrenching the ring off her finger. It felt like she peeled the skin back from the bone. She put the ring into his hand.

“No.” He grabbed her hand and shoved the ring into it. “Put this back on.”

“No, I can’t,” she said.

“Why?”

“It’s over.”

“It’s over.” His voice tightened. The ring fell to the floor with a soft thump. “You’re dumping me? How can I convince you I’m telling you the truth?”

“You can’t,” she whispered.

“You go right ahead. I shouldn’t expect any different from you. I know you’ve done this before. After all, you don’t want anyone getting too close.” They were almost nose-to-nose. Emily stood up straight and squared her shoulders. If she let him see weakness at all, she was through. “If you really play your cards right, you can spin this as the poor little diva getting dragged through the mud by the big, mean football player. Imagine the press.” Brandon spread his arms wide as he gestured. “If being with me was great for your career, imagine what the breakup will do. You’ll end up singing at La Scala.” Now it was her turn to gasp. His voice was hard; his mouth was a thin, angry line, but she saw agony in his eyes.

“I would never do that!”

“Well, gosh,” he sarcastically noted, “I sure as hell wouldn’t, either, but you don’t seem to believe it.” His hands came down on her shoulders. “You know what? I think you’re possibly the most impossible woman I’ve ever known.” He blew out an angry breath. “Here’s the thing, though. I love you, sugar. I’m always going to love you, and I’m never, ever giving up on us. Until you can manage to figure things out, though, you get what you want.”

He gave Emily a hard peck on the mouth and strode from her room. His footsteps echoed down the hallway and the staircase. The front door opened. She heard it shut behind him, and then there was silence.

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